In Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants," the hills serve as a symbol of the difficult decision that the two main characters, a man and a woman, are facing. These hills, like the white elephants in the story, are a metaphor for the couple's unborn child. The man wants the woman to have an abortion, while the woman is unsure of what she wants.
The hills are described as being "white elephants," which is a phrase that is often used to describe something that is a burden or a costly responsibility. The woman in the story is hesitant to go through with the abortion because she knows that it will be a difficult and painful decision. The hills, like the white elephants, represent the weight of this decision and the burden that it will place on the woman.
The man, on the other hand, sees the hills and the white elephants as something that is insignificant and easy to dispose of. He suggests that they "just get it done with" and "be happy" afterwards, showing his lack of understanding of the gravity of the situation and the emotional toll it will take on the woman.
Throughout the story, the hills and the white elephants serve as a constant reminder of the difficult choice that the couple must make. They represent the unborn child and the weight of the decision to bring a new life into the world or to end it before it has even begun. The hills and the white elephants are symbols of the couple's struggle to come to a decision and to navigate the complex emotions that come with it. In the end, the couple's decision remains unknown, leaving the hills and the white elephants as a metaphor for the uncertainty and complexity of life's choices.
The Importance of Symbolism in Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway
These two people do not have room for a baby in their lives. If she goes through with the abortion, she will be deprived of life and grace and that is why she argues with him that the world will be taken away from them if they go through with it. The woman resists his egotistical impulses—but at the same time she has a desire to please him, to love him. One side of the station has desolate and arid land. They have traveled together all over the map as their suitcase stickers show. To sum it all up, point of view changes our understanding of the story significantly and there are many symbols used, most of them being about the baby.
Hills Like White Elephants
This story is so appealing to people because it looks so real. Meanwhile, the subject of this conflict was changed — the couple started to discuss their attitudes towards the operation question. What do mountains symbolize and teach us? The baby wants to be born and she wants it to be born. When the unnamed girl first compares the far-off hills to white elephants, the American simply replies, 'I've never seen one. In 'Hills Like White Elephants,' Ernest Hemingway addresses this same concern. Either they can have the baby, which is symbolized with Barcelona, or have an abortion, which is symbolized with Madrid.
Symbolism in Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”
The Bamboo Bead Curtain The bamboo bead curtain is another symbol in the story that represents the boundaries and thresholds that Jig and the American boyfriend face. The varying landscape on either side of the tracks - barren and free of shade on one and abundantly fertile on the other - is actually one of the keys to understanding the underlying theme in 'Hills Like White Elephants. This comes after some of her most direct, powerful, and--from a writing perspective--most embellished statements in the story, talking about how they could have had it all. Conversely, the American man does not go thorough significant suffering. Characters Aside from 'the woman' who brings the couple drinks and is only seen a few times, the American and the girl are the only characters who ever say anything.
What do the hills symbolize in Hills like White Elephants?
Everything will be changed after the birth of the child if she does not have an abortion. In fact, it was complicated for me understand the message at the first time, so I discussed this question with people online. The couple has danced round and round the topic. The train will be there to take them one way or another—either to more drinks and more rounds of endless looking at things, which the girl says is all they ever do, or to a child and life and love and responsibility. One of the points Hemingway brings up in this argument is that men have no point of reference for the experience of pregnancy.
Symbolism in the story "Hills Like White Elephants."
ABOUT US Anyone who comes to Fresh-essay. The train station symbolizes a sense of transition from one experience to another. Even though the American man is responsible for this pregnancy, he states that he does not want Jig to give birth. This setting is interpreted as a metaphor for the choice at hand, an interpretation of life or death. One of the greatest American writers of the 20th century, Ernest Hemingway, is famous not only for his works but also for an astonishing talent to express a lot in just a few words. The bamboo bead curtain symbolizes a barrier to free life that the couple is used to because bamboo would change them and even force them to settle down Fonseka, n.
